Politics, Government & Business in California's Inland Empire
Friday, October 8, 2010 – 07:10 a.m.
The new blow-up in the Governor’s race involving Democrat Jerry Brown has some interesting twists.
In addition to the Meg Whitman is a “whore” issue, there is also the following little tidbits coming out of Brown’s mouth in the recording.
Employers in U.S. Cut More Jobs Than Forecast in September
By Timothy R. Homan – Oct 8, 2010 6:46 AM PT
The U.S. lost more jobs than forecast in September, reflecting a decline in government payrolls that shows the damage being done by rising budget deficits.
Employers fired 95,000 workers after a revised 57,000 decrease in August, Labor Department figures in Washington showed today. The median estimate of economists surveyed by Bloomberg News called for a 5,000 drop. The unemployment rate held at 9.6 percent.
Neil Derry Jerry Lewis
Thursday, October 7, 2010 – 10:30 p.m.
Rumors…rumors….rumors…. We love rumors.
The new one making the rounds says San Bernardino County third district supervisor Neil Derry is looking at the congressional seat of veteran House of Representatives member Rep. Jerry Lewis (R-Redlands).
Both men are republicans.
Ellis
Thursday, October 7, 2010 – 08:30 p.m.
Sources are telling InlandPolitics.com that the Orange County-based political consultant to San Bernardino County District Attorney Mike Ramos may have put his clients in violation of state campaign finance laws.
David Ellis, owner of Delta Partners, LLC and the David Ellis Group, is alleged to have put many of his clients in violation of what is known as the ‘sub-vendor rule’ in years prior to 2010.
10:00 PM PDT on Thursday, October 7, 2010
By JAN SEARS
The Press-Enterprise
Half the money raised in the first year of a proposed half-cent Redlands sales tax increase would go to the general fund with the other half going to street improvements, as outlined in plan adopted by the City Council this week.
The amount going to the general fund, which has suffered shortfalls because of the recession, would decrease to 40 percent in the second year of the tax and then gradually decline to zero by year five, which would be 2015-16.
By PE News
on October 7, 2010 3:40 PM
The Inland area’s weak economy might mean Riverside County transportation officials pay more to borrow money.
Fitch Ratings, one of three national credit rating agencies for municipal bonds, announced today it was lowering the rating for the Riverside County Transportation Commission from “AA+” to “AA.” The Inland’s high unemployment, subpar housing market and sluggish consumer spending were factors in the decision, according to a news release.
Andrew Edwards, Staff Writer
Posted: 10/07/2010 05:57:55 PM PDT
SAN BERNARDINO – The U.S. Department of Commerce will grant more than $5.5 million to help fund further improvements near San Bernardino International Airport and Southern California Logistics Airport in Victorville.
Brian McGowan, a senior Commerce Department official, discussed the grants Thursday afternoon during a roundtable with local government and business figures at San Bernardino Community College District’s board room.
Chantal M. Lovell, Staff Writer
Posted: 10/07/2010 06:42:01 PM PDT
REDLANDS – Tea partiers filled the corners at the intersection of Redlands Boulevard and Orange Street Thursday night to protest the city’s ballot Measure A, which they said stands for “asinine.”
Members from the Redlands Tea Party Patriots, the Redlands Townhall Patriots and others held signs and chanted against the proposed half-cent sales tax, which goes to voters Nov. 2. They said the city needs to manage its resources better, not increase taxes.
James Rufus Koren, Staff Writer
Created: 10/07/2010 05:55:05 PM PDT
Incumbent County Supervisor Paul Biane has raised and spent much more campaign cash than challenger Janice Rutherford, who is challenging Biane in November’s election, but Rutherford raised more over the past three months and has more cash on hand going into the final weeks of the campaign.
Between July 1 and Sept. 30, Biane raised $131,267 in cash and another $30,000 in loans – $10,000 each from Supervisors Brad Mitzelfelt, Josie Gonzales and Gary Ovitt. Rutherford, meanwhile, raised $146,919 in cash and has loaned herself $100,000.
Darcel Woods
Point of View
Darcel Woods
Posted: 10/07/2010 07:37:03 PM PDT
The next representative of the 59th District to the California State Assembly will have a great opportunity to be part of the solution to getting California back on track to prosperity.
The “politics as usual” theme in Sacramento has not served us well.
As final votes loom, legislators stuff the spending plan with last-minute favors.
By Jack Dolan and Patrick McGreevy, Los Angeles Times
October 8, 2010
Reporting from Sacramento —
State lawmakers were moving Thursday night to bring California’s longest-ever budget impasse to a close — but not before stuffing their spending plan with last-minute favors for special interests.
PolitiCal
On politics in the Golden State
October 7, 2010 | 6:22 pm
In a private conversation that was inadvertently taped by a voicemail machine, an associate of Democratic gubernatorial candidate Jerry Brown can be heard referring to his Republican opponent Meg Whitman as a “whore” for cutting a deal protecting law enforcement pensions as the two candidates competed for police endorsements.
By Amy Chance
achance@sacbee.com
Published: Friday, Oct. 8, 2010 – 12:00 am | Page 3A
The campaign of Democratic gubernatorial candidate Jerry Brown apologized Thursday after one of his aides was overheard referring to Republican rival Meg Whitman as a “whore” in a taped telephone message.
The recording of the conversation was circulated to the press Thursday. It was captured on a telephone answering machine when Brown left a message after calling the Los Angeles Police Protective League last month.
L.A. NOW
Southern California — this just in
October 7, 2010 | 5:48 pm
With the election less than a month away, the campaign to pass Proposition 19, the marijuana legalization initiative, is pulling in some high-dollar donations.
On Thursday, the owners of a natural soap company and a hemp clothing store announced a $100,000 contribution to pay for a voter registration drive aimed at California’s college students. That followed a $100,000 donation made Monday by Sean Parker, co-founder of Napster, a former president of Facebook and now a venture capitalist.
Capitol Alert
The latest on California politics and government
October 7, 2010
Even as Assembly Speaker John A. Pérez on Thursday hailed transparency, openness and public participation in this year’s budget deliberations, the key bill on which his house was voting had not yet been released to the public.
The 800-page text of the main budget bill was not available from the Legislature’s Web site, from the office of the Assembly clerk, or from the bill room shortly before or directly after the Assembly’s first vote on the bill.
Capitol Alert
The latest on California politics and government
October 7, 2010
State Controller John Chiang hasn’t said whether the state can successfully avoid formal IOUs with passage of a budget today, but the package includes a bill that would help the state conserve enough cash over the next month.
The legislation, Senate Bill 864 or Assembly Bill 1624, would authorize fiscal officials to defer $5.5 billion in payments to K-12 schools, community colleges, the California State Teachers’ Retirement System and Cal Grants for CSU and UC students.
By Dale Kasler
dkasler@sacbee.com
Published: Friday, Oct. 8, 2010 – 12:00 am | Page 6B
Last Modified: Friday, Oct. 8, 2010 – 12:13 am
In a case with ties to California’s pension fund scandal, a former top New York state official Thursday admitted taking bribes from a financier who’s done business with CalPERS.
Former New York Comptroller Alan Hevesi, who oversaw his state’s public pension fund, admitted taking nearly $1 million in gifts from Los Angeles financier Elliott Broidy. Hevesi pleaded guilty in New York state court.
By Jon Ortiz
jortiz@sacbee.com
Published: Friday, Oct. 8, 2010 – 12:00 am | Page 1A
The new labor deal between Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger and California’s biggest state employee union marks a significant turn in the state’s labor drama – and not just because it affects about half the state’s unionized work force.
Wednesday’s near-midnight announcement of a tentative pact with Local 1000 of Service Employees International Union underscored the mounting pressure on labor to cut deals now or risk greater losses.
From 2007 to 2009, the rate soared 31% in Riverside, San Bernardino, Ontario and environs. ‘These areas are on the front lines of the Great Recession,’ says the report’s author.
Half-built homes frame a deserted street in Hesperia in San Bernardino County. The recession showed itself early in the Inland Empire through the collapse of the housing market. (Katie Falkenberg / For The Times)
By Howard Blume, Los Angeles Times
October 8, 2010
Poverty is increasing in the Riverside, San Bernardino and Ontario areas at one of the nation’s highest rates, a study released Thursday concluded.